The Gentle Salamander
by KageFuego4
Summary: Tsuboi Ryoutarou is your average man, with an average job, living an average life. He also happened to have a not so average (death game) experience, along with ten-thousand other people. Somehow, he managed to make it out alright, right? This is a view into the daily life of the leader of Fuurinkazan. Extremely light SPOILERS, if you haven't reached the Alicization arc... Maybe
1. Yui

Disclaimer:

Sword Art Online and all related characters events etc... are owned by Kawahara Reki and any affiliates I haven't bothered to look up.

Enjoy. No really, please do. Ryoutarou needs it.

* * *

><p>"Gah, of all the luck!" a red haired, scarlet bandanna clad samurai cursed, finding himself in a cave surrounded by four blade wielding creatures that resembled turtles.<p>

That is, turtles with the ability to stand upright on their hind legs, frown and hold weapons in the first place. The torchlight, illuminating the small cramped room showed that the only way out would happen to be the way he entered.

"Come now, guys" the man nervously chuckled, attempting to be as non-threatening as possible. "I don't want to be here, and you obviously don't want me here" he began, discreetly checking to make sure that his katana was still securely tied to his crimson robes and black armor.

It never hurt to double check your things, what with the wacky happenings of this game, lately.

The turtle creature growled in response, brandishing their weapons with vigor. The samurai took this as their way of telling him to 'get to the point'.

"So, why don't I just leave the way I came…." At this he looked up, at the pitfall he had fallen victim to, then back to the monsters "and we can pretend this never happened?" he shrugged.

While the four creatures stood there, seemingly pondering this suggestion, a small winged girl chose this moment to emerge from the bandana tied across his head with an exaggerated yawn.

This in turn, startled the previously occupied monsters, prompting them to roar in unison.

"No, Yui!" the samurai exclaimed "I had them convinced to just let us out without a problem" he moaned, preparing for the now imminent battle.

"But, Uncle Klein" the small girl began, nonchalantly examining the riled creatures. "These monsters were programmed to immediately attack any entity that falls into the trap" she replied.

"Ah" Klein replied, chuckling sheepishly.

How'd he wind up in this mess?

* * *

><p>*Earlier that Morning*<p>

"This is rare" Tsuboi Ryoutarou remarked to himself, having woken up with a terrible headache, having stopped dressing for work midway. Examining the calendar magnetically attached to his fridge, it appeared that he had managed to work enough overtime to get the rest of the week off. Compounded with the weekends which were usually days off anyway, this also explained why he smelled of sake.

Memories of celebrating (alone) as a reward for all of his hard work (alone) while calling up his (pathetically short) list of friends to make plans began to slowly drift back to him as he massaged his temples.

Ryoutarou sighed dejectedly, remembering the aftermath of those calls. Yesterday was Wednesday, which meant; next to no one would be free for the majority of today.

Andrew would be swamped with customers all day. The Kids would have school, followed by some sort of extracurricular activity the school usually mandated. Everyone from the guild worked the morning shift with him, but didn't have the fortitude to go through with the double weekend strategy along with him.

He could go out on the town, but it was still way too early for that and he hadn't even eaten breakfast yet. Ryoutarou figured he'd come up with something after that.

Which is how he found himself in Alfheim, deciding today was as good as any to get some 'solo' play in. Not that he could really see the charm in playing these kinds of games alone, being a social creature by nature.

While flying aimlessly through salamander territory, stewing in dark thoughts, Yui, in navigation pixie form, chose this moment to appear, startling the poor Salamander-Samurai enough to disrupt his focus and send him plummeting into a sand dune.

"Yui!" Klein exclaimed, smiling at seeing a friend, be it flesh or digital. He looked around, expecting to see a Spriggan or Undine come hurtling by at any moment, in pursuit of their wayward 'daughter'.

Only the occasional Salamander party leisurely flew by.

"So~" Klein stressed, looking for a way to word his question.

"Your hair isn't as comfy as papa's, Klein-san" the pixie remarked.

"Anyway, what are you doing all the way out here, without Kaz or Asuna?" he asked the girl. "You know that it isn't safe for young girls to be out so far without their parents" he waved a finger before the pixie in mock seriousness.

"Yui is a big girl!" the pixie giggled, before adopting a more serious expression. "Also, papa told Yui that he was frustrated that he wouldn't get to play with Klein, even though you got a mini-vacation from your job, so he thought he would be wasting all the work you put in" she replied.

At this, Klein was speechless. The last thing he wanted to do was upset anyone with what he thought was a well-intentioned plan.

"Oh, Yui-" Klein began, but the pixie continued.

"And, when you logged in earlier, Yui could feel a lot of the emotions inside, even though you were usually so happy, and made other people happy, too" she observed. "And right now, you feel a little sad too" she observed. "So please, don't be sad, Klein" the small pixie breathed, seeming to droop more and more with every word.

"Hey now" Klein muttered, using a finger to gently pat the pixie on the head. "We can't have both of us being sad now" he grinned. "And there's no way I can have you going around with anything other than a big old smile!" he declared

"Will you feel better?" Yui timidly asked, wiping away a small digital tear.

"Only when you do" Klein smiled. "What kind of guy would I be, to make my best friend's daughter cry, after all?" he asked.

"A really bad one?" Yui replied, playing along.

"Exactly" Klein nodded. "Since your dad's like a little brother to me at times, that'd make you almost, kinda, sorta my pseudo niece" the Samurai mused.

"Then that makes you my almost, kind of, sort of, in a way Uncle!" the pixie exclaimed, giggling.

Klein felt a pang in his chest, whether it was in the digital world or otherwise, it felt very real to him. The way she said that, had a nice ring to it. Klein couldn't help but smile.

"From now on, since it makes you feel happy, I'm gonna call you Uncle Klein!" Yui announced.

Klein felt another pang, this time. But this time it felt

"Hey, I'm only twenty-five, that isn't old at all!" Klein roared, raising a fist and dispersing his own downward spiraling thoughts.

"That's right" Yui cheered nestled within Klein's locks and mirroring his actions.

"This calls for a celebration!" Klein decided. "And what better way is there to celebrate than with a bit of adventure and treasure!" he declared.

"Quest time!" Yui agreed, already applying for the nearest available quest.

Oasis Rush daily quest accepted, his indicator dinged.

"Wait, what?" Klein asked.

And so, while wandering the desert, Yui took a nap using Klein's bandanna to securely (and surprisingly comfortably) secure herself while the Samurai blindly searched for an oasis, eventually falling through a poorly concealed pit trap, leading to the current situation.

* * *

><p>One of the turtle creatures leaped into the air, retreating into it's large shell and spinning towards the Katana user , the jagged edges of it's shell and a warning from Yui were more than enough to snap Klein out his reverie.<p>

Ducking to the ground, the shell flew overhead, not crashing into the wall as Klein expected, but instead melding through, then disappearing completely, a belated thump was heard moments later.

"Well, I think we're onto something now" Klein smirked, quickly moving to his feet and drawing his katana in an instant, the blade glowing red as cut upwards, cleaving one creature in two, downwards, bisecting a second and then thrust, impaling the third and engulfing it in flames, which spread to the other two, causing all three to shatter and award Klein his exp.

"Uncle Klein" Yui called worriedly, "there's a fire in this small cramped room now" she observed.

"Gah!" Klein realized, his fire affinity giving him reason to pay no mind, but worry for Yui prompted him to immediately jump at the wall the fourth monster had disappeared into.

His torso made it through, but his lower body made contact with solid material, dealing a meager five points of damage as the rest of his body twisted and toppled into the concealed area.

Almost immediately, Klein felt a sharp increase in temperature, although it only led to his character feeling even more at ease, being of the Salamander race. Any other class would likely find this place sweltering though, let alone a pixie.

"Yui" Klein called "you okay, up there?" he asked.

"It's…. really hot" the pixie replied after some time. "I feel like…. I'm melting" she gasped, as if exhausted.

"Hold on, hold on!" Klein called, frantically opening his inventory. "I don't have much by way of magic" he muttered "but I do remember – there!" he nodded, materializing an amber colored potion, matching his eyes, the pixie thought belatedly.

Potion of Fire Resistance +35% it indicated.

The pixie merely had to tap the bottle, instantly receiving it's benefits with no need to consume the potion itself. A useful feature, Klein noted, returning the potion to his inventory.

"Feeling any better?" Klein asked.

"I'm actually kind of cold now" Yui cheerfully replied.

"So that's how it works" Klein smiled, relieved.

Upon turning around to take in the new area, the quest indicator dinged

Oasis Rush2 Defeat Desert Tortoise and Clutch the screen listed.

"This'll be fun" Klein sighed, heading further into the area, the heat increasing the further he tread into this cave.

"Huh, now I'm starting to feel really warm again" Yui noted, nestling into Klein's hair. "If only your hair was more comfortable" she pouted "then I could take a nap" she yawned.

"You really are your father's- whoa!" Klein exclaimed, turning a corner and beholding a lake that glowed a warm pink as puffs of steam rose to the stone ceiling, obscuring the area in a hazy mist.

Hearing a familiar growl, Klein quickly stepped, avoiding a blade swipe as three tortoise creatures stepped out of the mist.

Intense foreboding entered Klein's mind.

All three couldn't possibly be the desert tortoise, since the quest only specified one. But, if these big guys were the clutch, then….

Instinctively, the Samurai dove to the side after spotting movement from high above, behind the three apparent small-fry. Not a second later, a large jet of water hit the ground where he had been moments before. The pressure of the attack seemed to be so strong that Klein wondered if the ground would erode, even if they were in a game.

Sidestepping the attacks of the minions, the three were quickly dealt with, albeit one did manage to score a hit before it was felled, in favor of the massive damage that'd likely be sustained from the high level water attacks suppressing him.

"Good luck!" Yui cheered as Klein steeped further into the mist so as to get a view of the beast striking from above. The mist dispersed as if in response to Klein's will when he reached the edge of the underground lake.

Klein sighed in resignation.

Of course it'd be a giant frikkin turtle!" he roared as the Health Bars of the creature came into view.

Island Turtle – Desert King With a gargantuan roar from the behemoth and a war cry from the Crimson Samurai, their battle began.

* * *

><p>"You're telling me these Island Turtle things are rare monsters that only spawn a few times a month when certain criteria are met?" Klein asked the pixie atop his head. A ladder had appeared back at the entrance, allowing for his exit as well as automatically being marked on his map as oasis in the event of a future visit.<p>

"Yes" Yui confirmed, beaming at the results of the last encounter. "You even got the extremely rare drop that the island turtles will leave behind only every so often" she informed. "Not only do they sell for an enormous amount of Yurudo, they could conversely be used to activate certain quests, as key criteria or be used to craft powerful equipment or weapons" the pixie concluded.

"Really?" Klein asked in a dubious manner, eying the drop in his inventory.

Island Core – Desert it read. Depicting a relatively large swirling sphere surrounded in a bronze aura that dissipates upwards. While cool in appearance, Klein couldn't really think of many uses for it.

"So, what kind of quests need it?" he asked.

"Unconfirmed" Yui replied.

"…. What kind of weapons or equipment can it make?" he tried, the bad feeling returning.

"Unconfirmed" Yui replied once again, seeming to look apologetic once more.

"I guess I could sell it, if I run low on funds" Klein sighed.

"Sorry, Uncle Klein" Yui sighed as well.

"Don't worry about it!" Klein exclaimed. "The main thing is that we had quite the adventure" he laughed.

"That's right!" Yui agreed.

"Hmm, that was fun and all, but now it's time to wind down" the Samurai stretched. "How do you feel about ice cream, since the quest reward had a nice payout?" Klein offered.

"Yeah!"

* * *

><p>A.N. - And that's that. As things are, I feel that I may turn this into a collectionoccasional plotline sort of thing, depending on how I feel at the moment. Also, don't hesitate to review, comment, flame (if you're into that) or whatever. That means you're reading all the way through.


	2. Map

A.N.- Alright, this is sort of a continuation from the previous chapter. Enjoy!

* * *

><p>"Of all the quests that guy could scrounge up, he finds one that has to be done in the stupid Ancient Forest, in Sylph territory of all places" Klein grumbled, navigating through the dense woodlands. "I mean come on, he's a Gnome for god's sa-" hearing movement nearby, he abruptly ceased complaining.<p>

Not too far off, the Samurai spotted a group of monsters, armed with axes, moving about in a clearing. Deciding to get a closer look, so as to determine whether it'd be best to fight through the group or take a detour, Klein stealthily approached the clearing, doing what he could to conceal himself.

"This is…. odd" the Salamander muttered.

In the center of the clearing, standing upright, was a large brown furred bear adorned with a foreman's helmet and wielding a clipboard, apparently issuing orders to the other monsters. These other monsters happened to be a variety of otherwise cute woodland creatures hacking away at the surrounding trees and toppling them with surprising efficiency.

Although great in numbers, the height of the monsters would barely reach the center of the Samurai's chest. However, eying the bear in charge of this operation, towering over the other creatures and exuding an aura of authority, Klein decided that it would be in his best interests to remain unseen.

Besides, he was already in danger of being late for the raid Agil had prepared, as things were.

Taking a screenshot of the scene before him, as proof of what he'd bore witness to, Klein turned to leave.

As he did so, a streak of green zoomed past his face from the forest and struck the bear in the side of the head. Although virtually unfazed, the monster immediately traced the trajectory of this attack, as did Klein.

Narrowing his eyes, the Samurai caught sight of an ample valley, followed by the frilled edges of a lacy brassiere, a smooth slender neck-

Klein snapped out of his stupor as the woman smiled and blew a kiss, winking at him before sprinting away. Moving to pursue the aggressor, definitely a Sylph using some low-level wind spell, he deduced, the idea that he'd done something stupid surfaced.

A mighty roar reverberated throughout the forest, actually pushing the Samurai a few inches backwards as he turned around, his eyes locking with the bear foreman's as it tossed aside the clipboard and adjusted the hat atop it's head.

Belatedly realizing that the small monsters that had been previously cutting down trees were now forming a ring around the bear and he, Klein sighed.

Focusing on the opponent before him, Klein wondered if he'd be able to make it to Agil's raid in time.

Berserker and two bars of health appeared on Klein's Interface.

The monster roared once more before rushing towards the Salamander with an unreasonable burst of speed and swiping it's now elongated claws.

Parrying the attack, Klein was pushed several feet backwards and watched as small percentage of his health decreased. The monsters forming a ring chattered away, cheering the bear on while rearranging themselves to prevent any potential escape.

Suddenly, Klein worried that he may have a bit of trouble getting to that raid at all, let alone in a timely manner.

* * *

><p>"Alright, everyone's here, just about" Agil announced as two female Cait-Sith appeared from within the forest.<p>

"We're not the last to arrive?" the shorter of the new arrivals, asked. Atop her head, a blue water dragon (oddly accentuating the girl's crimson eyes) voiced it's surprise as well before nestling further into the girl's brown hair, between her two large cat-like ears.

"Yeah, we're just waiting for one more guy" Agil confirmed, leaning against one of the many trees. Tall, considering the average height of Gnome characters, the man was quite adept at commanding respect among his peers, perhaps as a result of his shaven head and simple goatee.

"To be fair, technically he isn't late, though" Leafa, a Sylph with green eyes and long blonde hair offered, seated against another tree nearby.

"He isn't late, yet" Kirito, legendary black haired Spriggan replied, reclining on the same tree as Agil and examining his trademark black long sword with a smirk. Yui sat atop his head.

"Are you still upset that he went off and found a rare creature without you, earlier today?" an Undine with azure eyes and equally blue hair asked, chuckling while seated next to Leafa.

"No I'm not, Asuna" Kirito denied, shaking his head for affect, yet unable to hide his pout. "I'm just… ah"

"It's alright, Papa" Yui offered, patting the Spriggan on the head to comfort him. "Uncle Klein wanted his friends to be there too" she informed the group.

For a moment, the assembled party smiled at the kind gesture from the pixie before their thoughts returned to their currently absent friend. Although, something seemed off about Yui's description.

"Maybe he got held up by a few monsters, or a group of players?" Sinon, the second Cait-Sith suggested, her blue eyes narrowed in thought, her blue hair, much shorter than Asuna's swayed to and fro as she looked to the others for an opinion.

Kirito laughed, as did Yui shortly after. "I doubt there's a mob out there that guy could lose to, let alone a few players" Kirito chuckled. "Unless he's fighting a field boss or someone at Eugene's level, there's no way he's having any fight related trouble" the Spriggan assured her.

"Yeah!" Yui agreed. "Uncle Klein's almost as strong as Papa and Mama!" she announced.

There was that off feeling, again.

"Wait…. Uncle?"

* * *

><p>Klein's indicator pinged, informing him that a message from Kirito had been received. The samurai ignored this, ducking below a large swipe from the bear, then scoring two quick slashes along the creature's torso and leg before pulling back to avoid another attack that left it's back open for a simple sword skill.<p>

Within five minutes, Klein had managed to grasp the movements of the intimidating Berserker and quickly seized the flow of battle, whittling at his foe's health bar while receiving only minor injuries every so often as a result of an ill-timed dodge or parry.

With a roar from the samurai, Klein's katana began to glow a bright crimson and drew three streaks across the back of Berserker once more, finishing the first bar of health and knocking the creature to the ground.

With a cheer, Klein quickly downed a health potion and begun to slash at his fallen opponent, a quarter of the second health bar had soon disappeared without any reaction from the still fallen bear when Klein noticed something off about the creature.

The previously thick, dark brown fur of the bear seemed to be compressing, causing the monster to appear to be shrinking in size. Klein's attacks were also doing less and less damage.

As Klein examined the rapid changes occurring, the bear itself suddenly opened it's eyes, alarming the Salamander as it rose and roared mightily, rather than pushing him back, Klein seemed to be rooted to the spot, taking in the now pronounced muscle adorning his opponents body and the elongated claws and fangs the bear wouldn't normally possess.

Without any discretion, the monsters that had been previously surrounding the two combatants turned tail and scattered in all directions, some dropping their weapons in the rush to escape the obvious increase in danger.

Still unable to move, Klein could only watch as the bear(he began to question the assessment) Berserker, still with approximately three quarters of its final health bar intact, stalked towards one of the fallen axes and picked it up before turning to eye Klein, with piercing crimson eyes.

Klein gulped, able to move once more.

* * *

><p>"Come on Leafa, don't be like that" Kirito pleaded, attempting to soothe his sister who had been sulking while facing a tree for the past twelve minutes.<p>

"Why does that guy get to be called 'uncle', but she won't call me 'auntie'?" the Sylph wailed at the tree. Silica pat the girl on the shoulder to console her as Pina mewled in confusion.

"We're so behind schedule" Agil muttered to no one in particular, shaking his head and smiling as the spectacle continued.

"She does have a point" Sinon nodded. "That unreliable kind of guy gets to be called such a nice title" she sighed wistfully. "But Kirito's actual sister doesn't get the same benefits" she explained.

"I see why you'd be upset" Asuna began, Yui having flown onto her shoulder after denying Leafa's request. "But Yui just doesn't want to" she offered, looking to the pixie in question, who nodded in agreement.

"Is it really that big of a deal?" Kirito asked.

He received several glares from the surrounding females. Agil guffawed unhelpfully.

"I… see?" the Spriggan trembled, taking a step back.

"Did Klein ever reply to the message you sent?" Agil asked, attempting to salvage the situation.

"No" Kirito sighed, bringing up a map to pinpoint his friend's whereabouts. His icon was painfully close, but stationary. "Well, he can't be lost, since he's right there" Kirito thought aloud, confused.

"He isn't dead, either, or it'd say as much" Agil reasoned.

"Fell into a trap?" Sinon suggested.

Kirito and Agil fell silent.

"I'll go get him" Kirito announced to the group.

* * *

><p>Klein fell to his knees, gasping for breath after finally defeating Berserker whom, in its final moments before vanishing pointed to the clipboard it had tossed away before the battle.<p>

After marveling at the amount of experience gained from defeating the creature as well as storing the drops, he moved to examine the deserted clipboard.

Ra Sightings it was titled, depicting a map of Alfheim in which several locations were circled, although a small portion of them had been crossed out.

Klein didn't have time for this right now. If he took any longer, Agil would dismember him, being as late as he was already.

This thought spurred Klein into action, quickly placing the item into his inventory along with the items given by the crazy bear and stood to his feet, continuing the trek towards the others.

As the Samurai headed further into the forest, a familiar silhouette appeared, becoming more and more apparent the closer Klein and the figure drew to each other.

"Eh, you're fine?" the Spriggan Kirito remarked, he and Klein having stopped to clasp hands in greeting.

"Why wouldn't I be?" the Samurai queried, confused by the comment.

"Don't worry about it" Kirito shrugged, sending a party invite to the Salamander.

"Weirdo" Klein smirked, accepting the request as it appeared before him. The smirk quickly faded as he beheld the list of names and status bars already present. "I pretty much figured I'd be the last to arrive" he weakly chuckled "but it still kinda sucks" he finished, looking to Kirito.

"Your health!" Kirito choked, taking in the fifth of a bar, indicating Klein's remaining hit points.

"Ahh, I figured Asuna or Lyfa could just cast a heal spell, so I left that alone" Klein replied, as if this was a more than sufficient explanation.

"What did you get yourself into?" Kirito sighed, leading the way towards the rest of the party.

"Well, you see" Klein mused "there was there bear called Berserker and these other forest monsters, chopping down trees…." he trailed off. "Actually, I've got a screenshot" the Salamander muttered, manipulating his system window.

"Ah, so cute~!" the female portion of the party gushed after interrogating the Salamander as to the reason for his tardiness and near-death state, then subsequently being shown the snapshot he had taken earlier.

In exchange for duplicating the picture and distributing it among the group as a show of good will (bribe), Klein's infraction was waived.

"Now that everyone's here" Agil announced, having finished perusing the marked map Klein had obtained. "I think it's about time we get started on today's quest" he smiled, manipulating his screen for a few moments.

A ping from Klein's interface informed him that a quest was now being shared amongst the party.

"At first, I figured this'd just be the usual treasure run, albeit with a bit of increased difficulty" the Gnome continued. "Klein's little encounter earlier has me worried, though" he smirked "or excited" the man amended.

"And why is that?" Sinon asked, rolling her eyes. "Get to the point" she prompted, although the excited swaying of her tail contradicted her tone.

"Because of this" Agil announced, flourishing the map Klein had received.

"The map I got…." Klein stated. "What about it?"

"The quest we're about to start" Agil placed his finger one of the marked locations amidst the ancient forest "is right here, which is where we are" he grinned.

"Does this mean we'll be running into more psycho bears?" the Salamander groaned dejectedly.

"So we might find some of those cute monsters Klein saw?" Silica mused, her own tail swishing hopefully.

Likewise, Asuna and Leafa had further reason for look forward to their excursion, eyes gleaming in anticipation.

"Looks like everyone is fired up now" Kirito chuckled along with Yui at the group's antics.

With that said, Agil turned around and pressed a hand against the tree he had been leaning against, causing it to glow a pale gold for a moment before a window appeared, visible to the entire party.

Instanced Dungeon - Proceed?

Yes – No

"Everyone ready?" the Gnome called, glancing back to the rest of the group and receiving various confirmations. With a nod, he chose yes.

The window disappeared and moments later, the entire tree slowly faded from view until it had completely vanished. In it's place stood an open trapdoor leading underground.

"This oughta be good" Agil mused, stepping over the edge and allowing himself to drop straight in.

"No point hesitating" Kirito shrugged, nodding to the others before simply hopping into the opening and disappearing from sight as Yui waved to the group.

"If I run into another turtle" Klein muttered, leaping into the dungeon entrance with trepidation.

Confused by this statement, the rest of the party followed, entering in similar fashion.

* * *

><p>A.N. - And that's that. It's likely that the following chapter will cover a separate event, occurring after this. The chapter after that though, will probably pick up from here though.<p>

With that being said, as always, please don't hesitate to review, be it to express disagreement or to say that you liked it. Comments and constructive criticism is always welcome.

Thanks for reading.


	3. Silica

A.N. - Long chapter is long(er than the usual ones) this time around.

Started writing and couldn't stop, which is why this chapter is up so soon after the last one.

* * *

><p>"Hmm, I've really gotta stop logging onto this game without anything to do beforehand" Klein mused, having dived into Alfheim this evening without any goal in mind.<p>

With that said, he began the wizened old Salamander NPC's request Drake Hunt.

"Oh, thank you for hearing me out!" the old man rasped, shaking the samurai's hand with surprising strength.

"Don't worry, that's the duty of an adventurer!" Klein replied with a smile. "So tell me, what's wrong?" he prompted the NPC.

"Ah, my granddaughter's housewarming party is coming up soon, but the gift I had planned to get for her is impossible for these old bones" he sighed.

Klein looked at the quest's name, then back to the old man. "And what exactly did you plan to get for her?" he asked, an inkling as to what it could be already in mind.

"The scale of a fire dragon" the elderly man replied simply. "But" here he hesitated "i-if you run into one with a fully matured horn, could you acquire that instead?" he asked.

Klein had fought a few dragons before, so he knew full well how difficult it would be just to take down a normal one.

But with a matured horn? They were difficult just to find, fighting one was even more of problem, as they were much more powerful, too.

The samurai sighed as a prompt appeared on his interface.

Accept Quest – Drake Hunt?

Yes – No

"Leave it to me, sir!" Klein grinned, pressing yes and giving the man a reassuring thumbs up. "I'll be back with that horn in no time!" he declared.

This oughta keep him occupied for a little while, at least.

* * *

><p>That had been about forty minutes ago, Klein inwardly groaned, avoiding the stinger of a giant scorpion.<p>

It was times like these that made the salamander regret not purchasing a mount of some sort. But hey, when you could fly, who needed one, right?

Wrong, the Salamander berated himself, jamming the end of his Katana into the scorpion's…. face? Mandibles? He didn't care, twisting the blade and bisecting the creature in two, causing it to burst into polygons.

Ignoring the message displaying the awards sent to his inventory, courtesy of autoloot, Klein continued on his way.

"Come on, Dragons Valley can't be that far away" he growled to himself, finally pausing to check his map.

Referencing the distance between his icon and where the border of Dragons Valley began, Klein groaned, changing direction and jogging with his face still in the map. He paused again, however, noticing a friend icon steadily travel across the desert, advancing in his general direction.

Confused as to which of his friends could possibly have business in the hazardous Salamander territory, he pressed the icon.

Silica

"Eh?" Klein started. "Why would she of all-"

"Klein!" a voice cried from above him.

"Sili-?" the salamander called, looking to the air in time to catch a glimpse of red polka dots on white before the young Cait-Sith landed atop him, her water dragon alighted atop the heap in a slightly more graceful manner.

Quickly scrambling to her feet, the girl attempted to help Klein up with Pina's assistance.

"Woah! What's the rush?" the samurai asked, belatedly taking in the injuries dotting Silica and her pet, as well as the shallow breaths they were taking.

"N-no time!" the girl replied, urging the salamander to fly.

"Ah, the cooldown hasn't finished yet" Klein informed her, pacing a hand on each of her shoulders. "More importantly though, calm down" he soothed. "What are you trying to get away from?"

"A-a group of pl-pla" the girl's words tumbled over each other.

Pina squawked alongside her.

"Deep breath" the salamander suggested. "In" he prompted.

The girl and miniature dragon both did as instructed.

"And out."

Two deep exhalations followed.

"Better?" Klein asked.

Silica nodded, a small smile adorning her face when Pina also nodded.

"Now, let's start from the top" Klein spoke slowly, letting go of the girl's shoulders. "What's go-"

A fireball hit the ground beside him.

"Hey! We found the Cait-Sith first, so don't go trying to steal our Exp, bro" a Salamander wielding a shield and broadsword growled, landing a few feet in front of the duo.

"That was a warning shot, now back up, got it?" another salamander, wielding a staffed and cloaked in robes ordered, landing behind them.

"What?" Klein eloquently asked.

Despite the situation, Silica softly giggled at the red-head's confused expression.

Another two salamanders descended, landing beside the fighter and mage. A rogue and another fighter, respectively.

"If you don't get to moving soon, we'll just take you out too, same race or not" the rogue warned.

"Ohh, that's what's going on" Klein chuckled sheepishly, scratching at the back of his head. "How's your health?" he whispered to Silica.

"Less than half" she whispered back.

"And Pina?" he asked.

"Same" she replied.

"Got it" Klein nodded slowly. "I'll make this quick, so follow behind me and focus on healing, alright" he smiled.

"Wha-" Silica started.

"I'll start with the mage" he muttered, more to himself than Silica.

"What are you hesitating for!" the first fighter called.

"Alright, alright!" Klein growled back. "Let's make this quick, alright?"

"What are you-" the fighter began, noticing Klein's hands move for his Katana. "Waste him!"

Immediately, Klein dashed towards the mage, quickly attempting to gain some distance while chanting, the fighter beside him drawing a longsword.

"Heh, you've got guts for thinking you can take us on" the swordsman mocked, readying himself to meet the Samurai's charge, though he still had yet to draw his weapon. "But guts'll only get you so f-" he was cut off when the Bandanna clad salamander vanished.

"Kuh!" the mage let out a startled cry, crimson polygons pouring from his separated torso and lower half.

"One down" Klein smirked, watching the salamander mage burst into polygons, leaving his remain light.

Not missing a beat, the longsword turned to face Klein, blade flashing brightly in the position to use a skill both Klein and Silica were familiar with.

With a sigh at how telegraphed the move was, Klein parried the attack Vorpal Blade wincing as his health still decreased from the force of the blow.

Now wide open, a few well placed basic attacks reduced the fighter to naught but a remain light as well, silently hovering above the sand.

Silica, now with three quarters of health had managed to make it to Klein's side, the remaining two Salamanders having paused at the spectacle.

"So, having second thoughts?" Klein asked them, resting his Katana on his shoulder.

"Like hell, you prick!" the rogue answered, rudely gesturing at the samurai.

"Hey, you bastard, there's a little lady here! Show some respect, damnit!" Klein roared.

Silica chose not to comment on her friend's hypocrisy.

Exchanging glances, the rogue and fighter readied themselves, cautiously moving towards the Cait-Sith and Salamander.

"This'll be over in a minute, Silica" Klein grinned, stalking forwards. His foot hit a rock, tumbling the samurai face first into the sand.

The rogue acted first, tossing a set of throwing needles at the inexplicably downed samurai.

Gracelessly, Klein rolled across the sand, avoiding and reflecting the projectiles only to come in range of the fighter, in the stance to perform a sword skill.

A barrage of bubbles pummeled the fighter, throwing him off balance long enough for Klein to get to his feet.

The rogue dashed around the samurai, moving towards Silica, drawing her dagger uncertainly.

"Hey, I'm over here!" Klein growled, turning away from the fighter to intercept him.

"And I'm over here" the fighter replied, sword skill in motion as he suddenly dashed, blade curving downwards.

"Yeah" Klein growled, suddenly stopping, his opponent's Sonic Leap cleaving the space in front of him "I know" he finished, Katana swinging in an arc towards his opponents neck.

"Dodged it?" the fighter cried in surprise, bursting into polygons after having his head removed with a critical hit.

Sword flashing above his head, Klein activated his own sword skill, becoming a blur as he crossed the sand, lopping the rogue's weapon hand off in a flash of crimson.

"Fell Crescent, too" the salamander rogue muttered in awe, recognizing the technique. "That's way too many high level techniques for us to handle" he groaned, holding the stump of his arm, still spewing bright red polygons.

Finally having recovered from the cooldown, Klein nodded in agreement. "Gotta say, that was fun, though!" he smiled, raising his katana.

"Yeah, it was" the rogue grinned. "I'll have to come back for a rematch" his final words.

* * *

><p>"Thank you so much, Klein!" Silica bowed. Pina chirped some form of thanks as well.<p>

"Don't worry about it" the samurai scratched the back of his head in embarrassment at the girl's antics. "Besides, that's what friends are for, right?" he replied, smiling.

"Yeah!" the Cait-Sith nodded, smiling as well.

"Although, I would like to know what exactly you were doing in Salamander territory of all places" Klein asked. "I was under the impression you hated PvP" he added.

"I do!" the girl nodded vigorously. "But, a quest I took needs me to tame a fire dragon" she sighed "so I thought I'd ask one of the salamanders if they knew where they spawned, before wandering the place on my own or dragging Lisbeth with me" she explained.

"Ahh, but instead, you got attacked the second that group spotted you?" Klein surmised.

"Yeah!" Silica confirmed. "Thank you again, for helping me out, Klein!" the girl repeated, bowing once more.

"Hey, hey, stop that!" Klein admonished, smiling despite himself. "I didn't know a quest could require you to tame something though, especially since I don't think there are any items that let other characters tame" he mused aloud. "Was this a race specific quest?" Klein asked.

"Yeah, a lot of the Cait-Sith quests make you tame stuff" Silica replied. "Do the Salamander quests have things like that, too?" she asked.

"Well" Klein tried to remember something Salamander specific he'd gone through.

He only found one common trait.

"Nope" Klein sighed. "They just ask you to kill this and bring that back" he laughed.

"O-oh" Silica chuckled weakly.

They continued walking in silence.

"Well, um, what were you doing out in the desert?" the girl asked.

"You do know I'm a salamander, right?"

"But you seem too nice to be a salamander, though" Silica immediately replied. "I mean, I'm not saying only bad people are salamanders but-" the girl floundered, looking to the sand in embarrassment.

Klein laughed, ruffling Silica's hair and raising an eyebrow in amusement when her tail began to swish contentedly.

Experimentally, he scratched behind her ears, inwardly chuckling when her eyes closed and tail slowly swayed in time with his scratches.

"Too cute" Klein blurted.

"Wha-what?" Silica asked dazedly, face reddening when she realized what had happened.

"So, what do you think would make a better fit for me, as a race, then?" the salamander asked, returning to the topic.

"Well, since you're always smiling and really funny" Silica mused "I think you'd be a really great Undine, like Asuna!" she decided, then paused, reconsidering. "Or maybe a really cool Puca!" the girl cheered just as enthusiastically.

Klein didn't knew whether to laugh or groan at the girl's suggestions. Either way, the Salamander's smile grew.

"Is that so?" he asked, humoring the girl.

"You don't think so?" she pouted, as if reading his mind.

"I think they're interesting" Klein replied, settling on chuckling softly. "In fact, I might make an alternate character just to try my hand at the Puca, since I don't see too many" he mused, scratching behind the girl's ears to distract her.

"Really?" Silica asked in a content daze. "Asuna has an alternate character" she informed the salamander "if Klein makes one, maybe I will too, so the three of us can adventure together" she smiled.

Tired of being ignored, Pina made a noise, unable to rest atop silica's head since Klein's hand was in the way.

"Oh, Pina" the Cait-Sith mumbled. "I wonder if I'll be able to transfer her across the characters" she thought aloud. "But if I can't, what do I do?" a look of conflict spread across her face.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be able to think of something" Klein softly soothed, placing the water dragon on his shoulder to scratch behind it's ears as well.

Ironically, he received similar results.

"Mmn, thanks Kirito" the girl drowsily murmured as Klein's scratches increased in frequency.

Klein suddenly stopped in his tracks. Silica continued walking a few more steps before belatedly turning around to watch an unfamiliar look flit across the salamander's features.

"Klein?" she asked hesitantly, Pina mewled in worry from atop his shoulder, as well.

"What's up?" Klein replied, a smile on his face as he caught up with the girl, moving his hand to her head.

Unconsciously, the girl relaxed, prepared for more scratches. Pina's weight settled atop her head instead, the samurai having simply made sure she wouldn't move as he gently placed the tiny dragon down.

With that done, the Salamander continued walking without a word.

"Klein?" Silica repeated, catching up to walk beside the Samurai. "Is something the matter?" she asked. "Did I say something wr-"

"Oh!" Klein interrupted. "I completely forgot" he grinned, manipulating his interface.

Silica's own interface alerted her to a message, from Klein.

Accept Party Invitation?

Yes – No

Without question, Silica accepted, then looked to the samurai for an explanation.

"You see, I have to get a fire dragon scale" he told her "but I'd completely forgotten in all of the excitement" he chuckled at his blunder. "Would you mind if we both helped each other, since our quests happen to coincide?" he asked.

"Of course!" Silica smiled, writing off the Salamander's earlier strangeness.

* * *

><p>"Wow! You've been here before?" Silica marveled as Klein lead the way past countless dragon nests, through a cave she was unaware of and then stopped, turning to her with an embarrassed smile on his face.<p>

"Ah, Silica?" he asked.

"Yes?"

"Did your quest specify what kind of fire dragon you had to tame?" he asked.

"Um, I don't think so" the girl trailed off, momentarily referencing the quest details before shaking her head in the negative. "No, it didn't" she confirmed. "Why, are there other types of fire dragons?" she asked.

"Yes and no" Klein shrugged.

Silica tilted her head in confusion.

"Ah, well there are fire dragons that have fully developed horns, you see" he began. "These dragons are stronger than the others, which are pretty much kids, compared to it" he continued.

"Do you need to find a dragon with a horn for your quest?" Silica asked.

"Well I want to, but I don't have to" Klein sighed.

"Okay, then let's find you dragon" the tamer replied simply. "Since you want to find it, I'll help too!" she declared. "That what friends are for, right?" the girl smiled as Pina mewled in agreement.

Klein's smile was dazzling. "Don't go taking my lines!" he mock admonished, still grinning. "I hope you know what you've agreed to!" he warned the girl, pointing towards a particularly high mountain. "That's the first place we'll be looking, where it has a forty percent chance of showing up" he explained, excitedly.

"And if it isn't?" silica asked, getting caught up in the samurai's pace.

Klein pointed to a multitude of other, increasingly taller, mountains, his grin infectious.

"I welcome the challenge!" Silica declared, raising her fists in the air. Pina stood on it's hind legs in an attempt to appear intimidating.

"That's more like it!" Klein praised, crossing his arms and nodding approvingly. "Now, onwards!" he roared, jogging alongside Silica.

* * *

><p>"Kyaa!" Silica cried in terror, falling to her knees, not expecting the sheer size of their target.<p>

"What?" Klein asked the girl in confusion.

"It-it's huge!" Silica squealed. Pina appeared equally terrified, attempting to burrow beneath her owner's hair.

"Really?" Klein asked, unconvinced. "I won't lie, this thing did almost one hit me, last time I saw it, though" he added, almost unconcernedly.

"Are you sure that's a normal dragon?" Silica asked, unable to accept the sheer size of their foe.

"Well, it has the fully developed horn" the salamander trailed off uncertainly.

"What, what is it?" Silica demanded feverishly.

"It might be a little bigger than the last one" he grinned sheepishly, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Why are you smiling!" Silica screeched.

The large ruby-colored dragon, previously leisurely curled up in a nest, sleeping soundly, suddenly opened one eye half the size of Klein.

Elder Drake appeared on Klein and Silica's interface, along with three rapidly filling bars of health.

"Hmm, wait, that's not right" Klein murmured as the dragon rose to full height, spreading it's wings and unleashing a mighty gust with one beat.

"Wrong dragon!" Klein panicked. "Hey, can you tame boss-class monsters?" Klein asked the Cait-Sith as he frantically opened his interface, tossing a collection of various potions and a ring to the girl.

Numbly catching the items and equipping the ring

Flame Eater's Band – Fire Resistance +20% appeared beneath her health bar.

Dimly registering the question but unable to take her eyes of the dragon as it turned to look at them, eyes filled with barely restrained malice, she slowly shook her head in the negative, mute.

Silica and Pina whimpered in unison.

Elder Drake roared mightily, belching a scorching inferno at the trespassers.

* * *

><p>"Gah, this is ridiculous!" Klein yelped, leaping out of the way of the massive creature's tail as it came down upon where he had previously been. Klein could only hack at the offending appendage with basic attacks, having discovered early on that the dragon was fond of using surprise attacks when he was on cooldown.<p>

The behemoth's second bar of health decreased by a miniscule amount.

"Silica!" the samurai called out when the dragon's eyes focused on him.

"On it! The girl answered, having regained her determination when Klein had almost died after taking the full force of an attack.

Early on in the battle, the two had discovered that the dragon's scales could be removed when subjected to a combination of Pina's strongest water attacks and a precise application of Silica's dagger based sword skills.

However, the time required for Pina to recast the ability was dangerously long, Silica could only remove one scale at a time and incurring the full wrath of the Elder Drake.

Silica's dagger was cast in a ebony light before, with a shout, she plunged it between two scales on the monster's back, peeling one of the large scales away with a simple *chink* sound.

Immediately, the enormous beast whirled around, spewing fire and using it's tail as a flail.

Always unable to avoid the flames, Klein and Silica were both singed, but only sustained minor damage. Klein, due to his race and equipment bonuses. Silica, as a result of the fire dampening ring and potions Klein had given her earlier.

The dragon's tail, however, was avoided, but left the dragon facing Silica. Klein raced to the drake's back, a patchwork of scale and pink defenseless flesh. Silica had only to avoid the dragon's movements until Klein could score another powerful attack upon it's unguarded skin, noticeably draining the boss's health bar and regaining it's ire.

And so, the deadly dance continued, until, with a final roar Klein plunged his katana into the creature one final time, where the beast, in a final roar of anguish futilely beat it's now tattered wings and toppled to the ground.

Falling to her knees, Silica gasped, tears in her eyes as she hugged Pina to her body, she cried, Pina ineffectually attempting to soothe the girl with heal effects and d soft cooing.

Confused, Klein staggered towards the weeping girl, hugging her to himself in an attempt to console the girl alongside the tiny dragon. "What's wrong?" he asked, unsure of what to do.

"We won, but I was so scared!" the girl sobbed.

"It's over now" Klein ruffled the girl's hair, smiling as she whimpered, shaking her head in attempt to elicit a scratch. He complied.

"But, the dragon was so sad" Silica muttered, her sobs having reduced to hiccups as the scratching calmed her.

"Sad?" Klein asked, helping the girl to her feet but continuing to scratch behind her ears.

"Yeah" she mumbled as Pina rubbed her head against the bottom of the girl's chin. "We came into it's home and it couldn't stop us, or protect it's" she yawned, "important things" she elaborated.

"I see" Klein murmured, still scratching. "Feel better now?" he asked the Cait-Sith.

"Mmn" the girl mumbled, having closed her eyes a while ago, comfortably snuggling further into the salamander's arms. "You know what?" the girl smiled unconsciously, speaking so softly it may as well have been a whisper.

"What?" Klein chuckled, unable to bring himself to rouse the girl from her nearly unconscious state just yet.

"I know I shouldn't, I really tried to stop" the girl began to blush ever so slightly. "But I, think I love you" she confessed.

Klein's heart performed somersaults, he almost pulled off his Amusphere to cheer "Finally!"

"Wh-" Klein began.

"So, don't tell Asuna, please" the girl drifted further away "Kirito-kun."

Klein sighed, finished scratching behind the girl's ears, as she had fallen into a light sleep.

He couldn't really say he was surprised.

* * *

><p>"Woooow~" Silica marveled at the rewards she had gained from the battle, having awoken before her console could automatically log her off. "Klein, what did you get?" she called to the Salamander.<p>

"Well, any of these scales should be fine for the quest, plus, I got the horn, too" Klein smiled.

For some reason, it seemed a little stiff, to Silica at least.

Perhaps he was tired, and she had the gall to go to sleep, forcing him to watch her avatar until sh-

"Silica?" Klein called, watching as the girl's face slowly morphed from ecstatic to guilty in an instant.

"I'm so sorr-!" she began.

Klein laughed, clearly and honestly, patting her on the head while smiling.

"Come on" he helped the girl up. "You've helped me with my quest and then some, because of a mistake I've made" the salamander smiled, scratching at the back of his own head sheepishly. "I think it's about time we looked for an impressive dragon-"

Pina mewled in protest.

"Ah, another cool dragon" Klein chuckled softly "for you to tame, so you can finish your quest too, hmm?" he smiled.

"Does that mean it's going to be another Elder Drake?"Silica shivered alongside Pina, nestled protectively atop her head.

"Oh god, no!" Klein laughed. "Just picked one of those" he replied simply, jerking a thumb in the direction of the now unprotected nest, where two simple white eggs lay, amongst a collection of other treasures. "Although, if they are the boss's, then technically they are potentially the same as the boss" the samurai shrugged.

"Just one, though?" the Cait-Sith asked, confusedly. "There isn't anything limiting us, is there?"

"I'm under the impression that the game will make something happen, as soon as either of us takes something" Klein replied. "I can't explain it, but yeah" he trailed off.

"You aren't going to take an egg?" Silica asked, having already made up her mind.

"Nope" Klein easily replied. "I'd just sell it and be done, since I wouldn't use any skill slots for a pet, anyway" he explained.

"Then what are you going to take?" Silica asked, crouched near the egg she chose, prepared to take off at a moment's notice, in case some event truly did occur.

"This" the salamander answered, pointing at a single earring near his feet, reading Reflex Stud.

"What does it do?" the girl asked.

"I dunno" Klein shrugged, unconcerned. "But, you ready?" he warned the girl?

She nodded resolutely.

Klein snatched the ring off of the ground at the same time Silica retrieved the egg and placed it in her inventory.

The untouched egg suddenly began to change color, a deep crimson spreading to cover the previous white, before rocketing into the air, vanishing from the two players' sight.

As this happened, the ground beneath the nest began to give way, heaps of treasure falling into the depths of the mountain as Klein and Silica frantically attempted to avoid the rapidly increasing number of pitfalls.

* * *

><p>"Th-that wasn't too bad" Klein gasped beside an equally fatigued Silica and shaken Pina.<p>

"Y-yeah" Silica unsteadily agreed, the three of them having recklessly charged down the moment in fright.

It took the group a few moments to catch their breath, time Klein used to inspect the item he'd chosen.

Reflex Stud ignoring the summary of the item's backstory, he immediately checked for any effects.

Decreases Skill Delay of Physical Abilities -25%

Klein choked in surprise, marveling at the good fortune that'd befallen him.

"Yeah~!" the salamander cried, startling Silica and Pina.

"Wha-?"

"Lets's go find you a dragon to tame!" Klein cheerfully replied, equipping the item. "I can't wait to test this thing out!" he grinned giddily.

"Kl-Klein-san!" silica yelped, essentially being dragged around by the overjoyed salamander. Pina nearly fell from atop the girl's head multiple times.

But she had to admit, she hadn't had quite this much fun in a while. Now she was positive, Klein would make a great Puca, she giggled, running alongside the man.

* * *

><p>A.N. – This one kind of started to write itself, not really caring that it was supposed to be short. My apologies if it seems to drag on, since I couldn't really find time to neatly close things, hence the (in my opinion) rather abrupt finish.<p>

As always, please don't hesitate to leave a review or comment to let me know how you felt about this chapter... or fic in general.

Thank you for reading!


End file.
